Leave it to the offensive linemen at Jacksonville State to embrace the nickname War Pigs. They wouldn't have it any other way. In fact? It's a tradition at this FCS program.
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While other people (and position players) may balk at the mere thought of being associated with swine, linemen have no need for "being pretty", and they know that pigs are somewhat misunderstood. They're actually exceptionally adaptive, tough and intelligent creatures.
"O-line coaches can be lame and clichéd, but we all love that stuff, hogs and pigs and stuff like that," Jacksonville State O-line coach Kevin Revis told HERO Sports. "When I was a GA (grad assistant), even then we said we've got to go to war like War Pigs, and the guys loved it."
The story goes that former JSU lineman Adam Wright, who starred for the Gamecocks from 2012-15, would belt out an "enormous pig screech" before every practice. He was the energy guy during training and kept doing it, and the whole thing stuck. Current All-OVC linemen Darius "Pancake" Anderson and Tyler "Scizz" Scozzaro have helped keep that going.
"Hey, we're nasty and we get the job done," Scozzaro told HERO Sports. "It's fun to put the team on our back, especially in the run game. We like being known as the guys who put the team on our back. The scoreboard is our only statistic and we love it that way."
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Scozzaro, who joins with Anderson, B.J. Autry, Hunter Sosebee, and Nuka Yobo to form the starting lineup, has battled through a lot of stuff to make it to this point — the second round of the FCS Playoffs and a trip to Maine this weekend. He started out as a walk-on, redshirted his first year, got injured, had surgery, came back, got injured again … it took awhile to get the engine started, but when he did, he's been a major factor ever since. He didn't even know for sure if he'd get the chance to play this year, but an NCAA sixth-year decision came down in his favor.
His junior buddy on the line — Anderson — didn't pick up his nickname "Pancake" in college. The East Carolina transfer actually picked it up as a freshman in high school, when he showed such promise the coaching staff gave him the name. For the record? He does like pancakes, but would prefer waffles if he has a choice — but of course, the nickname "Pancake" for a lineman has different connotations than just that of a breakfast treat. It also describes the state-of-being of your competitor once you've done your job up front.
"Coming into my official visit, they had a War Pig on the board, and I asked about it," Anderson told HERO Sports. "They told me, it's a family. And we are just a family in that room. I am happy to be a part of the War Pigs, these are my brothers for life."
The Gamecocks have a daunting trip ahead to a place called Orono, Maine. The task at hand? To knock off the CAA champion Maine Black Bears on their home turf, in their chilly New England weather. Maine is known for its staunch defense, and there's a chance that snow/rain could play a factor, making what the O-line does much more important. Can they protect talented quarterback Zerrick Cooper, and can they help get the run game ignited? That's a key question for the War Pigs.
"It's a big game, and it's a second-round game and we haven't gotten past the second round in awhile (since 2015)," Scozzaro said. "It's going to be a challenge for us. We're going to leave Thursday and get up there and on Friday we're going to get acclimated to the weather. But no matter how far we go and what the conditions are, it's 100 yards and two endzones. Football is football no matter what the conditions are."
Especially for a War Pig.
